Hyderabad: a few days after opening Telangana’s new secretariat, the politics around it continues, with the opposition BJP repeatedly accusing the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) of “hurting Hindu sentiments”.
On Sunday, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao inaugurated a grand new secretariat for the state – the Dr BR Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat. Built at an estimated cost of over Rs 600 croreThe Secretariat is in place of a Nizam-era structure. It will have a temple, a mosque and a church – much like the old one, which had a temple and two mosques.
However, the BJP has objected to the building’s design, claiming that the cylindrical dome atop it follows Islamic architecture, and was adopted by the chief minister in an attempt to “appease” a “certain group of people”.
Speaking to the press a day before the inauguration of the secretariat, Telangana BJP chief and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar said it “hurts Hindu sentiments” and accused Asaduddin Owaisi and his Hyderabad-based All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul was being made to please. Muslimeen (AIMIM).
He claimed that the land allotted for the temple inside was half the size of the land allotted for the mosque, and took an oath that he would not enter the secretariat complex until the domes were dismantled.
He reiterated those claims on May 1, when he said in a tweet that Chief Minister Asaduddin Owaisi was “building a love symbol” for AIMIM, but ignoring farmers facing crop losses due to incessant and unseasonal rains. done.
When KCR’s focus is on building a symbol of love for MIM, people are bound to suffer.
Its #victimtelangana And #Drowning Hyderabad
In how many days will the BRS government fool people with drone videos of rural nurseries and flyovers? The reality is that farmers are facing crop loss…
– Bandi Sanjay Kumar (@bandisanjay_bjp) May 1, 2023
On its part, the Telangana government has clarified that the architecture of the building was inspired by temples in both Telangana and Gujarat as well as Deccan Kakatiya architecture.
Owaisi has also given a similar response. A Twitter user named ‘Al Bhagwa’ claimed that the new building looked like “one”.mausoleum (mausoleum)”, the Hyderabad MP said the design was inspired by temples in Telangana and Gujarat.
The Sir design was inspired by the temples of Neelakantheswara Swamy Temple in Nizamabad, Raja Prasad of Vanaparthi Sansthanam, and Hanuman Temple Sarangpur Gujarat.
Will you still say……
Ah a waqf registered mosque was illegally demolished during construction which is now… https://t.co/ssP60Rm64T– Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) April 30, 2023
Speaking to ThePrint, BRS leader and chairman of the Telangana State Mineral Development Corporation Manne Krishank said Bandi Sanjay “has no knowledge of architecture or history”.
“If demolition and destruction is their way, they should first demolish the Rashtrapati Bhavan or the Supreme Court, as they also have domes,” he said. There is no contribution of the BJP in the development of Telangana, the state or even in building the secretariat. So they have no right to speak,” he said.
ThePrint reached Bandi Sanjay via text message for comment. This report will be updated if and when he responds.
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Why ‘temple’ and ‘mosque’ inside the secretariat?
Speaking on Saturday, Bandi Sanjay Kumar alleged that, with the new secretariat, the KCR government was trying to keep AIMIM chief Owaisi and “certain group of people” happy. He said that if the BJP came to power, they would create something that would be based on the model of “Telangana’s culture”.
Under construction for more than two years, the new secretariat is one of the favorite projects of the chief minister. Although the chief minister’s team has pegged the cost of the project at Rs 550 crore, government sources guessed it 1,000 crores.
With bulletproof windows for the chief minister’s office, a royal dining room, and a sky lounge among its various features, the Secretariat is a grand ‘.Architectural-conforming’ structure with 635 rooms. The area of the entire complex is 27.9 acres.
The idea of a new secretariat was first mooted in 2017. Initially estimated to cost Rs 400 crore, the project faced opposition not only from rival parties but also from citizens, who challenged the demolition of the old Nizam-era building in Telangana High. court.
After several setbacks, the demolition of the old structure – which included a Nalla Pochamma temple and two mosques – began in July 2020.
Two months later, Chief Minister KCR promised to build new places of worship – a temple, a mosque And a church – in the same place. The announcement came after a meeting with a delegation of Muslim religious leaders and Owaisi.
The chief minister had then said that the mosque would be handed over to the Telangana Waqf Board after its construction, while the Nalla Pochamma temple would be handed over to the Endowments Department.
The foundation stone of the new mosque was laid in November 2021.
A source in the Telangana government’s Roads and Buildings Department told The Print that work on the mosque is still in progress.
“The construction of the mosque is being done at the site that was agreed upon earlier,” the source said. “It may take at least a few more weeks for the mosque to become operational.”
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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